Culture

AC/DC Albums Have Coincided With Every Major Recession Since the 1970s

by Jon Azpiri | October 27, 2008 at 09:44 am

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A British newspaper has noted that every major recession in the last 30 years has coincided with an AC/DC album topping the charts. Earlier this week, the Australian group's album Black Ice was #1 on British music charts just as the world suffers through a major economic crisis.

The last time that the group topped the charts in the UK was when the group released Razor's Edge, which went #1 just as Britain was entering its last recession. Before that, they hit #1 back in 1980 with their classic album Back in Black. At that time, the UK economy was in the red thanks to a 20 percent inflation rate and record high unemployment.

The first time the band had Britain's best-selling album was in 1970. That year, the band's self-titled album AC/DC went to #1 during a major oil crisis that saw prices quadruple.

While the Guardian jokingly refers to AC/DC's new chart-topping album as "final and irrevocable proof that the country is entering tough economic times", the paper also tries to offer some kind of explanation for the coincidence.

Small wonder that people turn to AC/DC in their millions when the world appears on the brink of chaos. Here is escapism into a world untroubled by sub-prime mortgages, record public finance deficits and the baleful state of the FTSE 100, but escapism of the most comfortingly consistent kind.

Western capitalism might collapse but at least Young can be relied on to perform a song about either rock and roll or testicles while wearing shorts, blazer and cap. Alas, what he can't be relied on to do is support those who delve into the sociological implications of AC/DC's appeal. "What we do, you're not going to look into it with depth, y'know," he suggested recently . "Because if you look into it with depth, you're not going to get it."

Those looking for another connection between AC/DC and the world of finance can check out this recent video for their song "Rock 'n' Roll Train" produced using Microsoft Excel.

8 See all footage | View Slideshow

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JeffHuang

at 09:50 on October 27th, 2008

That's pretty crazy. Hard to call it a coincidence when it happened three times already.

Sputnic

at 10:28 on October 27th, 2008

Spooky, perhaps they caused them all or saw this one coming. People have been saying the bubble was going to burst for years

sizeofguam

at 11:30 on October 27th, 2008

About my photo: There was a guy in the back of the van in a pretty lame Angus costume corralling people in to play AC/DC songs on a setup of Rock Band 2 that they had in there. This was right in front of the Viacom building in Times Square.

sizeofguam has contributed a photo to this story.